Trump Is Screwing His Voters So Badly That It Shocked This MAGA Farmer | The New Republic
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Trump Is Screwing His Voters So Badly That It Shocked This MAGA Farmer

As Trump’s bizarre idea to control soaring prices backfires with farmers, a Democratic organizer in rural areas explains how badly Trump is hammering his own supporters—and why it gives Democrats an opening.

Suzanne Plunkett/Pool/Getty Images

Not long after President Trump floated a $20 billion bailout for Argentina, he proposed importing beef from Argentina to bring prices down in the United States. This angered American beef producers and sparked a backlash from farm-state Republicans. But the most interesting response came from Meriwether Farms, a beef producer in Wyoming that promises to “preserve the traditions of American ranching.” Meriwether posted a long lament on Twitter, professing “love” for Trump but urging him to change course. Meriwether warned that Trump was on the verge of an “absolute betrayal” of the “American cattle rancher” and of “the very people who put food on the table for us.” Does this mean Trump is screwing his own supporters so badly that they’re finally getting angry about it? We talked to Matt Hildreth of RuralOrganizing.org, whose own family has been in farming for generations. He explains the perfect storm of terrible policies hitting Trump’s rural supporters, discusses whether this will help Democrats rebound in those areas, and details how the party is changing its organizing approach in them. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.